Wind shield for motorbikes and drive device for a vehicle component

ABSTRACT

The invention relates to a wind shield for motorbikes which can be positioned in various positions on the motorbike in an adjustable manner by means of a holding device ( 6 ), and can be adjusted by means of a drive device ( 8 ). Said drive device ( 8 ) comprises a cable or a cable pull connection ( 22, 23, 24, 25 ) between a drive motor ( 26 ) of the drive device ( 8 ) and a support element ( 16 ) pertaining to the adjustable wind shield. The invention also relates to a wind shield for motorbikes which is positioned on the motorbike in an adjustable manner by means of a holding device ( 6 ), said holding device ( 6 ) comprising two non-parallel guiding mechanisms ( 11, 19 ) for adjusting different positions of the wind shield ( 3 ) in terms of height and/or inclination, when it is moved along the guiding mechanisms ( 13, 19 ). The first guiding mechanism ( 11 ) is fixed to the vehicle and the second guiding mechanism ( 19 ) is arranged on the wind shield ( 3 ). A driveable carriage ( 12 ) which is connected to the support element ( 16 ) pertaining to the adjustable wind shield and is situated on the first guiding mechanism ( 11 ) which is fixed to the vehicle engages with a part ( 18 ) which is fixed to the vehicle and is situated on the second guiding mechanism ( 19 ) arranged on the wind shield support element ( 16 ).

[0001] The invention relates to a windshield for motorcycles which isadjustably mounted by a holding means on the motorcycle and can beadjusted by a drive means into different positions.

[0002] The invention furthermore relates to a windshield for motorcycleswhich is adjustably mounted by a holding means on the motorcycle, theholding means having two non-parallel guides for setting differentvertical and/or tilt positions of the windshield as it moves along theguides.

[0003] Finally, the invention relates to a drive means for an adjustablysupported motor vehicle component, especially a windshield formotorcycles.

[0004] DE 39 41 875 C1 discloses one such windshield which is mounted onthe motorcycle to be adjustable in its height and its tilt by anadjustment means. The adjustment means contains at least two guide railswhich are tilted in different planes, which are located on themotorcycle in the lengthwise direction, and on which one sliding pieceat a time is movably supported. The windshield is connected to the twosliding pieces to be able to swivel around the transverse axis of thevehicle. An electric motor is located in the area of the front, lowerguide rail and via a threaded rod transfers linear drive motion to thesliding piece which is supported on the front guide rail. The driving ofthe sliding piece via the threaded rod or a comparable dimensionallystable drive element limits the possible locations of the electric motorin the vicinity of the front guide rail.

[0005] The object of the invention is to devise the initially mentionedwindshield with a drive device which is improved with respect to itsarrangement and functionality.

[0006] Another object of the invention is to devise the initiallymentioned windshield with a holding means with two guides which isadjustably supported by a durable holding means with a simple structure.

[0007] Finally, a drive means of simple structure for an adjustablevehicle component will be devised.

[0008] The initially mentioned object is achieved in the initiallymentioned windshield as claimed in the invention in that the drive meansfor the windshield has a cable line connection between the drive motorof the drive means and the adjustable windshield. A cable lineconnection, which is formed for example in the manner of a Bowden cable,can be installed flexibly with bends or curvatures so that the drivemeans can be attached in the vicinity of the windshield or also fartheraway from it on the motorcycle without major structural limitationswhich entail rigid connecting elements such as spindles or the like.

[0009] The initially mentioned object is also achieved in the initiallymentioned windshield as claimed in the invention in that the drive meansfor the windshield has a lever means with at least one pivotally mounteddrive lever between the drive motor of the drive means and theadjustable windshield. Rigid coupling by means of a swivelling drivelever enables reliable, play-free actuation and adjustment of thewindshield. The lever ratios on the drive lever can be designed suchthat none of the drive movements applied to the drive lever are steppedup into large driven motions of the drive lever. This yields a compactexecution of the drive unit.

[0010] If the drive means for the windshield has a lever means with twosymmetrically arranged drive levers which are connected on the outsideend each to a carriage, which are supported in the middle for swivellingin opposite directions, and which on the inner end are connected to oneanother by means of a movable coupling part, a uniform drive motion canbe applied to two movable bearing parts of the windshield which arespaced apart from one another.

[0011] The object mentioned second is achieved in the windshieldmentioned second in that the first guide is mounted on the vehicle andthe second guide is located on the windshield and that a driven carriagewhich is connected to the windshield on the first guide which is mountedon the vehicle and a vehicle-mounted part on the second guide located onthe windshield are drive-engaged. Thus both the vehicle-mounted part andalso the windshield or the part connected to the windshield assume aguide function. Functionally the carriage is connected via a cable lineconnection to the drive means. Here the aforementioned advantages of theflexible arrangement of the drive means apply. A cable line connectionis defined as any connections which are resistant to extension andcompression, but which are flexible, and which can be flexible installedon the motorcycle, for example in the manner of a Bowden cable.

[0012] Advantageous embodiments of the invention are given in thedependent claims.

[0013] Preferably the windshield is mounted on the windshield bearingpart which contains the second guide and which is connected to thecarriage. In this configuration the windshield bearing part forms a unitof the holding means and the windshield is interchangeably attached tothe windshield bearing part and the holding means without effort.

[0014] If one cable line at a time is guided to a right-side and aleft-side windshield bearing part or on two spaced mounting points onthe windshield itself by the drive means, reliable adjustment of thewindshield is ensured by this double driving.

[0015] Functionally the drive means contains a rope pulley on which thecable or the rope of at least one cable or rope line can be wound andunwound. This pulley can have two adjacent peripheral grooves on whichtwo cable lines can be wound and unwound at the same time and in thesame direction so that the two cables and thus the two windshieldbearing parts are synchronously activated. By means of one of the twocable line connections at least one other movable part of the motorcyclecan be adjusted synchronously to the motion of the windshield.

[0016] In one preferred embodiment, the guides are made as links inwhich stationary bearing elements such as pins or the like areguide-engaged. If the guides or links are formed to be linear, dependingon the mutual assignment a uniform adjustment motion is enabled. Whenthe guides or links have at least one curved section, a swivellingmotion of the windshield can be superimposed on the linear adjustmentmotion. Instead of the curved section, any shape of the guide or thelink deviating from the linear section can make available a swivellingmotion of the windshield which deviates from the straight adjustmentmotion.

[0017] Preferably the first guide or link is made in at least onelengthwise part of the holding means. This lengthwise part can be acentral part of the holding means. Alternatively, there are twolengthwise parts in the right-side and left-side arrangement for the twowindshield bearing parts.

[0018] Preferably the lengthwise part is formed from at least twocombined components which can be divided along the guide. Thisconfiguration facilitates the production of guides and the installationof the assigned components of the holding means, such as for example thecarriage.

[0019] In the drive means for an adjustably supported vehicle component,especially a windshield for motorcycles, it is provided as claimed inthe invention that the drive means has a cable line connection betweenthe drive motor of the drive means and the vehicle component and a ropepulley on which at least one cable line can be wound and unwound and isguided by the drive means to the vehicle component or to a right-sideand to a left-side vehicle component bearing part.

[0020] Furthermore it is provided that the generic drive means has alever means with at least one pivotally supported drive lever betweenthe drive motor of the drive means and the adjustable vehicle component.

[0021] The dependent claims contain preferably embodiments of the drivemeans. The configuration and advantages follow from the description ofthe drive means of the windshield.

[0022] Embodiments of the windshield are detailed below with respect tothe drawing.

[0023]FIG. 1 shows in a side view the front part of a motorcycle with anadjustable windshield;

[0024]FIG. 2 shows in a top view the holding means of the windshieldwith a drive device in the initial position;

[0025]FIG. 3 shows in a top view as shown in FIG. 2 the drive devicewith the covering removed;

[0026]FIG. 4 shows in a top view as shown in FIG. 3 the holding anddrive device in the end position;

[0027]FIG. 5 shows in an inside view the left-side part of the holdingmeans;

[0028]FIG. 6 shows in a top view the left-side part of the holding meansand the drive device;

[0029]FIG. 7 shows in an inside view as shown in FIG. 5 the holdingmeans in the end position as shown in FIG. 4;

[0030]FIG. 8 shows in a top view a second embodiment of a holding meansof the windshield with a modified drive device in the initial position;

[0031]FIG. 9 shows in a top view as shown in FIG. 8 the holding anddrive device in the intermediate position;

[0032]FIG. 10 shows in a top view as shown in FIG. 8 the holding anddrive device in the end position;

[0033]FIG. 11 shows in a top view the holding means of the secondembodiment in the initial position according to FIG. 8;

[0034]FIG. 12 shows in a top view the holding means in the intermediateposition according to FIG. 9; and

[0035]FIG. 13 shows in a top view the holding means in the end positionaccording to FIG. 10.

[0036] A partially depicted motorcycle 1 (see FIG. 1) contains a cowling2 and a windshield 3 which is mounted above the cowling 2 by a holdingmeans 4 such that it can route the slipstream past the motorcycle driver5. If necessary, the windshield 3 can be adjusted in its height and/orits tilt by the holding means 4 out of a shallowly set position into ahighly tilted position (shown schematically in FIG. 1 in broken lines).The holding means 4 contains a holding frame 6 (only the part of theholding frame 6 which is the left part with respect to the motorcycle isshown in FIGS. 2 to 7) with mounting or screw openings 7 (see FIGS. 5and 8) for fixing the holding frame 6 on the frame of the motorcycle 1or on the cowling 2. A drive means 8 is mounted on the centraltransverse part 9 of the holding frame 6. On the side lengthwise parts10 (only the left lengthwise part 10 is shown) a linear link guide 11(see FIG. 4) with a for example rectangular cross section is formed inwhich an elongated carriage 12 is movably held. The front bearing pin 13extends through the side oblong hole opening 14 of the link guide 11into the bearing hole 15 of the windshield bearing part 16. A stationaryrear bearing pin 18 projects on the back end 17 of the lengthwise part10 laterally to the outside and fits into the link guide 19 of thewindshield bearing part 16 formed as an oblong hole. The rear bearingpin 18 is located above the elongated lengthwise axis of the link guide11 and the elongated lengthwise axis of the link guide 19 of thewindshield bearing part 16 runs underneath the front bearing pin 13 sothat the windshield bearing part 16 is swivelled up around the bearingpin 13 if it is pushed lengthwise by means of the driven carriage 12 andthe bearing pin 13. The windshield bearing part 16 has mounting openings20 for attaching the windshield 3.

[0037] Next to the link guide 11 and parallel to it, a channel 21 whichis opened toward the link guide 11 is formed (see FIGS. 5 to 7) in whicha drive cable 22 which is connected to the carriage 12 is movably held.The drive cable 22 is movably guided in jacketing 23 from the windshieldbearing part 16 via a bend 24 to the rope pulley 25 of the central drivemeans 8. The rope pulley 25 which is mounted on the gear shaft of thetransmission 27 driven by the electric motor 26 (see especially FIG. 3)has a peripheral groove 28 in which the drive cable 22 which can bewound and unwound and which is resistant to tension and compression isheld. By means of a retaining pin 29 which is mounted on the end of thedrive cable 22 and which is inserted in a recess of the rope pulley 25,the drive cable 22 is attached to the pulley 25 in the peripheraldirection, resistant to extension. The pulley 25 has a second peripheralgroove 30 next to the first peripheral groove 28 in which in the samedirection of rotation a second drive cable 31 for the opposing,right-side windshield bearing part (not shown) is located. The covering32 (see FIG. 2) covers and seals the pulley 25.

[0038] When the electric motor 26 is actuated, for example, via a handswitch on the handlebars or via a speed-dependent orslipstream-dependent control, the two drives cables 22, 31 are taken upat the same time from the initial position as shown in FIG. 1 in whichthe two windshield bearing parts 16 are located in the front positionand hold the windshield 3 in the lower vertical position with a flattilt, via rotation of the cable pulley 25 so that via the backwardsdisplacement of the respective carriage 12 the windshield bearing parts16 and thus the windshield 3 are raised and tilted more dramaticallyagainst the slipstream. The end position is shown in FIGS. 4 and 7.

[0039] The opposing drive motion of the electric motor 26 moves thewindshield 3 back again into the initial position or also into anintermediate position.

[0040] If the link guide 11 is positioned rising over its lengthrelative to the lengthwise axis of the motorcycle, the front bearing pin13 and thus the windshield bearing part 16 and the windshield 3 areadditionally raised in its vertical position.

[0041] One or both link guides 11 and 19 can have angled or bentsections so that a certain swivelling behavior of the windshield 3 whichis dependent on the lengthwise displacement can be fixed.

[0042] The largely flexibly installable drive cables 22, 31 of the drivemeans 8 enable a comparatively free arrangement of the drive means 8relative to the movable holding means 4 or to the windshield 3 so thatthe electric motor 26 with the transmission 27 and the rope pulley 25can also be located away from the holding means 4 and at angularpositions to it, which could be accomplished by a conventionalmechanical coupling only with high construction cost.

[0043] The rope pulley 25 can guide two synchronously drivable drivecables to two separate windshield bearing parts 16 which are spacedapart, and different distances from the pulley 25 to each of thewindshield bearing parts 16 can be easily bridged.

[0044] In another embodiment of the windshield (see FIGS. 8 to 13) witha modified drive means, the holding means 4 contains a drive pulley 33(see FIG. 1) which is located on the central transverse part 9 in themiddle between the two side lengthwise parts 10 (only the leftlengthwise part 10 is shown) and is pivotally supported on it and iscoupled torsionally strong to the electric motor 26 via the transmission27. The drive wheel 33 is covered by a cover 34 which is mounted on thetransverse part 9. The carriage 12 of the windshield bearing part 16 ismade U-shaped and sits movably on the guide 11 which is formed as arail. On the two brackets 35 which project inward from the carriage 12 apin 36 is mounted on which a left drive lever 37 is pivotally supported.The drive lever 37 extends roughly to the middle of the transverse part9, its resting directly on the cover 34, and it is supported to be ableto move and swivel on a pin 38 which projects upward for example fromthe cover 34 and which is held to be able to move into an elongated hole39 which is made in the drive lever 37.

[0045] A right drive lever 40 for driving the right windshield bearingpart or its carriage is located symmetrically to the left drive lever 37and is supported in the corresponding manner by means of a pin 42 whichfits into the lengthwise hole 41. The right drive lever 40 has an innerend 43 which is bent up such that this end 43 rests on the inner end 44of the left drive lever 37. The two inner ends 43 and 44 of the twodrive levers 37 and 40 each contain one guide 45 and 46 in the form ofan oblong hole or a link in which the guide pin 47 is held which ismounted on a sliding piece 48 which is movably supported on a lengthwiseguide 49 on the cover 34. A pin 50 which is eccentrically mounted on thedrive wheel 33 extends through an arc-shaped slot 51 in the cover 34 upinto the lengthwise hole 45 in the drive lever 37 (as shown) or into thelengthwise hole 46 of the right drive lever 40.

[0046] To adjust the windshield 3, the drive means 8 causes the drivewheel 33 to rotate and swivels it for example by an angle of a maximumroughly 130° clockwise as shown in FIGS. 8 to 13. In doing so the pin 50which slides in the lengthwise hole 45 swivels the left drive lever 37around the pin 38 so that the drive lever 37 moves the carriage 12 andthus the left windshield bearing part 16 to the rear via the middleintermediate position shown in FIGS. 9 and 12 into the end positionwhich is shown in FIGS. 10 and 13 and in which the windshield 3 israised with a greater tilt.

[0047] As a result of the pin 50 which couples the two drive levers 37and 40 to one another, the drive motion is transferred to the two drivelevers 37 and 40 for their synchronous movement.

[0048] This embodiment has a small installation depth of the drive,since the drive motion takes place via the drive lever which swivels byonly a comparatively small angle. The rotary motion of the pin 50 in thevicinity of the two end positions causes only minor swivelling of thetwo drive levers 37 and 40 so that starting and braking take placegently in the vicinity of the two end positions.

[0049] The drive means 8 is controlled via Hall sensors in the drivemotor and/or via microswitches which are triggered via the drive wheel33. There can also be a comparable control in the first embodiment.

[0050] Reference Number List

[0051]1 motorcycle

[0052]2 cowling

[0053]3 windshield

[0054]4 holding means

[0055]5 motorcycle driver

[0056]6 holding frame

[0057]7 screw opening

[0058]8 drive means

[0059]9 transverse part

[0060]10 lengthwise part

[0061]11 link guide

[0062]12 carriage

[0063]13 bearing pin

[0064]14 oblong hole opening

[0065]15 bearing hole

[0066]16 windshield bearing part

[0067]17 back end

[0068]18 bearing pin

[0069]19 link guide

[0070]20 mounting opening

[0071]21 channel

[0072]22 drive cable

[0073]23 jacketing

[0074]24 bend

[0075]25 rope pulley

[0076]26 electric motor

[0077]27 transmission

[0078]28 peripheral groove

[0079]29 retaining pin

[0080]30 peripheral groove

[0081]31 drive cable

[0082]32 covering

[0083]33 drive wheel

[0084]34 cover

[0085]35 bracket

[0086]36 pin

[0087]37 left drive cable

[0088]38 pin

[0089]39 oblong hole

[0090]40 right drive cable

[0091]41 oblong hole

[0092]42 pin

[0093]43 inner end

[0094]44 inner end

[0095]45 guide

[0096]46 guide

[0097]47 guide pin

[0098]48 sliding piece

[0099]49 lengthwise guide

[0100]50 pin

[0101]51 slot

1. Windshield (3) for motorcycles which is adjustably mounted by aholding means (4) on the motorcycle and can be adjusted by a drive meansinto different positions (8), characterized in that the drive means (8)for the windshield (3) has a cable line connection (22) between a drivemotor (26) of the drive means (8) and the adjustable windshield (3). 2.Windshield (3) for motorcycles which is adjustably mounted by a holdingmeans (4) on the motorcycle and can be adjusted by a drive means intodifferent positions (8), wherein the drive means (8) for the windshield(3) has a lever means with at least one pivotally mounted drive lever(37, 40) between a drive motor (26) of the drive means (8) and theadjustable windshield (3).
 3. Windshield as claimed in claim 2, whereinthe drive lever (37) on the one hand is connected to a movably guidedcarriage (12) which is coupled to the windshield (3), on the other handcan be driven via the drive motor (26) and can be swivelled around aswivelling axis (38) which is located between its two ends. 4.Windshield as claimed in claim 2 or 3, wherein the holding means (4) hastwo non-parallel guides (11, 19) for setting different vertical and/ortilt positions of the windshield (3) as it moves along the guides (11,19), the first guide (11) being mounted on the vehicle and the secondguide (19) being located on the windshield (3) and a driven carriage(12) which is connected to the windshield (3) on the first guide (13)which is mounted on the vehicle and a vehicle-mounted part (18) on thesecond guide (19) located on the windshield (3) being drive-engaged. 5.Windshield as claimed in one of claims 2 to 4, wherein the drive lever(37) is drive-engaged to a drive part (50) which is guided on a circularpath, which is driven by the drive motor (26) and which is guided to beable to move lengthwise on the drive lever (37).
 6. Windshield asclaimed in one of claims 2 to 5, wherein the drive means (8) for thewindshield (3) has a lever means with two symmetrically arranged drivelevers (37, 40) which are connected on the outside end each to acarriage, which are supported in the middle for swivelling in oppositedirections, and which on the inside end are connected to one another bymeans of a movable coupling part (47).
 7. Windshield as claimed in claim6, wherein the movable coupling part (47) is a guide pin (47) which fitsinto a respective lengthwise guide of the drive lever (37, 40). 8.Windshield as claimed in one of claims 5 to 7, wherein the drive part isa pin (50) which is arranged eccentrically to the drive wheel (33). 9.Windshield (3) for motorcycles which is adjustably mounted by a holdingmeans (4) on the motorcycle (1), the holding means (4) having twonon-parallel guides (11, 19) for setting different vertical and/or tiltpositions of the windshield (3) as it moves along the guides (11, 19),wherein the first guide (11) is mounted on the vehicle and the secondguide (19) is located on the windshield (3) and wherein a drivencarriage (12) which is connected to the windshield (3) on the firstguide (13) which is mounted on the vehicle and a vehicle-mounted part(18) on the second guide (19) located on the windshield (3) aredrive-engaged.
 10. Windshield as claimed in claim 8, wherein thecarriage (12) is connected via a cable line connection (22) to the drivemeans (8, 25).
 11. Windshield as claimed in one of claims 1 to 10,wherein the windshield (3) is mounted on the windshield bearing part(16) which contains the second guide (19) and which is connected to thecarriage (12).
 12. Windshield as claimed in one of claims 1 or 9 to 11,wherein one cable line (22, 31) at a time is guided to the windshield(3) or to a right-side and a left-side windshield bearing part (16) bythe drive means (8).
 13. Windshield as claimed in one of claims 1 or 9to 12, wherein the drive means (8) has a rope pulley (25) on which atleast one cable line (22, 31) can be wound and unwound.
 14. Windshieldas claimed in claim 13, wherein the rope pulley (25) has two adjacentperipheral grooves (28, 30) on which two cable lines (22, 31) can bewound and unwound in the same direction.
 15. Windshield as claimed inone of claims 1 to 14, wherein the guides (11, 19) are links. 16.Windshield as claimed in one of claims 1 to 15, wherein the guides (11,19) or links are linear.
 17. Windshield as claimed in one of claims 1 to16, wherein the guides (11, 19) or links have at least one curvedsection.
 18. Windshield as claimed in one of claims 1 to 17, wherein thefirst guide (11) is made in the lengthwise part (10) of the holdingmeans (6).
 19. Windshield as claimed in claim 18, wherein the lengthwisepart (10) is formed from at least two components which can be dividedalong the guide (11).
 20. Drive means for an adjustably supported motorvehicle component, especially a windshield for motorcycles, wherein thedrive means (8) has a cable line connection (22) between the drive motor(26) of the drive means (8) and the vehicle component (3), and a ropepulley (25) on which at least one cable line (22, 31) can be wound andunwound which is guided to the vehicle component (3) or to a right-sideand a left-side windshield bearing part (16) by the drive means (8). 21.Drive means as claimed in claim 20, wherein the rope pulley (25) has twoadjacent peripheral grooves (28, 30) on which two cable lines (22, 31)can be wound and unwound in the same direction.
 22. Drive means for anadjustably supported motor vehicle component, especially a windshieldfor motorcycles, wherein the drive means (8) has a lever means with atleast one pivotally supported drive lever (37, 40) between the drivemotor (26) of the drive means (8) and the adjustable vehicle component(3).
 23. Drive means as claimed in claim 22, wherein the drive lever(37) is drive-engaged to a drive part (50) which is guided on a circularpath, which is driven by the drive motor (26) and which is guided to beable to move lengthwise on the drive lever (37).
 24. Drive means asclaimed in claim 22 or 23, wherein the drive means (8) for the vehiclecomponent (3) has a lever means with two symmetrically arranged drivelevers (37, 40) which are connected on the outside end each to acarriage, which are supported in the middle for swivelling in oppositedirections, and which on the inside end are connected to one another bymeans of a movable coupling part (47).
 25. Drive means as claimed inclaim 24, wherein the movable coupling part (47) is a guide pin (47)which fits into the respective lengthwise guide of the drive lever (37,40).
 26. Drive means as claimed in one of claims 23 to 25, wherein thedrive part is a pin (50) which is arranged eccentrically to the drivewheel (33).